Measuring soil salinity

Authors

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia

Publication Date

11-2024

Series Number

DPIRD-181

Publisher

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

City

Perth

Abstract

To make sound decisions on managing saline sites, you need to know the source of salt, how salinisation is occurring, the landscape context, and most importantly, the actual salt concentration of the soil.

The most common 'measures' of salt concentration are actually estimates based on electrical conductivity of a soil and water solution. Soil salt content can be measured in a laboratory by measuring the total dissolved solids in a sample. In the field, salt concentration can also be estimated using electromagnetic induction-based soil sensors.

Number of Pages

8

Keywords

Saline sites, Salt, Salt concentration, Soil salt content, Electromagnetic induction-based soil sensors, Measuring salinity, Electrical conductivity (EC), EC water salinity

Disciplines

Agricultural Science | Agriculture | Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Electromagnetics and Photonics | Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment | Environmental Monitoring | Fresh Water Studies | Geological Engineering | Hydrology | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Soil Science | Water Resource Management

Recommended Citation

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia. (2024), Measuring soil salinity. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Perth. Factsheet DPIRD-181.
https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/nrm_factsheets/26

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